Allen v Dux Manufacturing Limited [2022] NSWSC 158

Allen v Dux Manufacturing Limited [2022] NSWSC 158

The Appeal Panel exceeded the limited scope of the medical appeal and made a jurisdictional error by adopting Dr Garvey's reasoning to make a s 323 deduction, because that issue was not dealt with by the AMS and was not raised in either party's submissions to the Appeal Panel. The Appeal Panel also made an error of law by simply adopting the reasoning and assessment of Dr Garvey, a member of the Panel, which did not satisfy its obligation to give reasons or to conduct its own assessment. Those errors required the decision and statement of reasons to be set aside and the matter remitted to the President of the Personal Injury Commission to be determined according to law.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
23 February 2022
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review of a Decision of a Medical Appeal Panel Constituted Under S 328 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (nsw) / Supreme Court Determination of Summons Filed 19 October 2021
Outcome
The plaintiff obtained relief; the Appeal Panel's decision and statement of reasons were set aside and the matter was remitted to the third defendant. Costs were reserved.
Legal Topics
['jurisdictional Error' 'error of Law on the Face of the Record' 'medical Assessment Certificate' 'medical Appeal Panel' 'permanent Impairment Assessment' 'deduction for Previous Injury or Pre Existing Condition' 'procedural Fairness' 'reasons for Decision']
['administrative Law' 'workers Compensation' 'judicial Review'] ['jurisdictional Error' 'error of Law on the Face of the Record' 'medical Assessment Certificate' 'medical Appeal Panel' 'permanent Impairment Assessment' 'deduction for Previous Injury or Pre Existing Condition' 'procedural Fairness' 'reasons for Decision']

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Procedural Posture

Judicial Review of a Decision of a Medical Appeal Panel Constituted Under S 328 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (nsw) / Supreme Court Determination of Summons Filed 19 October 2021

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Appeal Panel erred in point of law or made a jurisdictional error by making a deduction pursuant to s 323 when that matter had not been raised by the parties.' 'Whether the Appeal Panel denied the plaintiff procedural fairness by deciding to make a s 323 deduction without hearing from the plaintiff.' 'Whether the Appeal Panel erred in point of law or made a jurisdictional error by failing to give proper reasons for adopting the assessment of Dr Garvey.' 'Whether the Appeal Panel failed to conduct for itself the assessment of the degree of impairment resulting from the injury.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Appeal Panel exceeded the limited scope of the medical appeal and made a jurisdictional error by adopting Dr Garvey's reasoning to make a s 323 deduction, because that issue was not dealt with by the AMS and was not raised in either party's submissions to the Appeal Panel. The Appeal Panel also made an error of law by simply adopting the reasoning and assessment of Dr Garvey, a member of the Panel, which did not satisfy its obligation to give reasons or to conduct its own assessment. Those errors required the decision and statement of reasons to be set aside and the matter remitted to the President of the Personal Injury Commission to be determined according to law.

Court Disposition

The plaintiff obtained relief; the Appeal Panel's decision and statement of reasons were set aside and the matter was remitted to the third defendant. Costs were reserved.

Orders

  • ['The decision and statement of reasons of the second defendant dated 19 July 2021 is set aside.' 'The matter is remitted to the third defendant to be determined according to law.' 'Costs are reserved.']